Devotional
I read a devotional or two every day. In fact, one I was reading was on the radio at the exact time I was reading the scripture they cited. I read it as it was read over the radio, word for word.
Having devotions is a good thing. For those that don't know, they're small stories, usually with a practical application of the Scripture they cite. I also like writing them, too. But....
My life sometimes is the devotional.
God always is good to me and sometimes these devotionals really help grow my faith. Sometimes they remind me of what God has done for others which gives me hope that God will also do for me.
Sometimes, they remind me that even when God doesn't, that He is still good (ALL the time) and worthy of praise.
Sometimes God tells me what He is going to do before He does it. He's also good like that. Lately, what He has been telling me is to "Let Go", while reminding me that letting go is not the same thing as giving up. I am trying to make the distinction between the two.
It started a couple of weeks ago while fishing. Let go. It's been a predominate theme through the last few days. And I get it. I'm not good at doing it, but God in His wisdom and our relationship, will make me let go if I can't find a way to do it willingly.
I think we got there, and I want to share with you why.
There are always lessons to be learned and the first one today is that Jesus is enough.
Enough. I have joy and peace in my life when my focus is on Him. When that focus gets diverted, then doubts, anxiety and things start creeping in. So letting go of the things in my life includes letting go of outcomes. I don't know what's going on or where we're going.
He's driving. I have been slowly trying to drive back. He's not letting go of the wheel, so one of us has to and since He is Lord of my life, Creator, God, I'm relatively certain that makes me NOT the primary focus of our relationship. Guess who has to let go.
It's funny because if you read my last post, you'd think I'm trying. But while having to say NO! to a lot lately, I'm still trying to effect an outcome in the thing I believe God has planned for me by trying too hard when the opportunity arises. The door is open because God opened it and keeps it that way. It's not going to be a single solitary thing I do that can effect the outcome God wants, but I think just because He invites me to join HIM in HIS work, that I can change it.
So I say things that maybe I shouldn't.
And then the harsh reality comes when I realize that despite the circumstances, it's not time.
So if I can't let go, God offers me opportunities where it's best for me to decide to let go that may or may not have come if I could have to begin with.
If you have time, before you read any further, read Amos 3:7. If you do, this will make more sense.
I have taken to kind of letting the Holy Spirit direct me to what I should read in the Bible (book wise) and I am in Isaiah right now. Last night, before bed I felt compelled to read...just felt like God had something He wanted me to know.....and when I read Isaiah 50:10-12 , I knew what it was.
Something in my memory was jarred when I read about not lighting our own torch or warming ourselves by a fire of our own making. Those are illustrative ideas: the first is to follow Jesus. The second is to trust Him.
For me, lighting my own fire would have been introducing myself to yo-yo girl, or trying to effect an outcome in a situation involving someone I don't need to speak to this side of glory again and her pussycat which through a series of unfortunate events is being foster cared for by yours truly (want a psycho cat who doesn't like other cats, children, or dogs?) It's trying to go my own way after a setback to something I sincerely believe God wants but keeps me from attaining because it's just not time yet. It's not trusting in what I believe are His promises to me because every time it gets close, nothing changes but me.
But I'm not in charge either. So my faith gets stretched. I learn perseverance. I have to trust in the Lord and lean not to my own understanding because, no matter what I see, I have to believe God instead.
Letting go too means letting go of outcomes. I was told the pussycat's former owner wanted her back and that arrangements were made to make that happen. It didn't happen. It's what I was under the impression that the immigrant came up for on Saturday, not the babysitting jamboree that it turned into. I was called and told the cat was leaving Sunday after 11 p.m. sometime. I still have the cat.
Here's what I mean about affecting outcomes:
Being curious if the owner still wanted it, I snooped her Facebook page and accidentally "liked" something, before quickly un-liking it. Gotta love smart phones, but it's a reminder to me that I don't need to be in that process or looking at her facebook page. I don't care about what she's doing or what's happening in her life. I don't need to talk to her again this side of glory and I don't want to. But if the cat was promised to be returned to her, then the people that made that promise ought to keep it. If not, then I have no problem getting rid of the cat because it's a step in the right direction of what I want to have happen in my life, which is letting go of the past. (part of my past is still my present, so be mindful of that, too, please). Does she want the cat? I have no idea. I got out of there in a hurry. I didn't belong there.
I still have the cat.
And again, Miss June has moved in with Wendi, but her stuff and her pets are still here. I love Miss June and she took very good care of me. I miss that. It sucks being sick and being alone. I hate taking care of her cats as well, but her pets are still here as well as all of her stuff. She has the autumn decorations in her room with her stuff and I won't go through it. I got the hell beat out of me for stealing some change from my mother's purse when I was a kid and it's a lesson I never forgot. That's not MY stuff, even though some of it is. So no decorations, pets that aren't mine, and a roommate that is MIA.
I can't get rid of them because I won't hurt Miss June. I've hurt enough people. It's the same reason I won't just take the cat to the pound. The cat's owner has been hurt enough by yours truly and maybe it's why I want her to have the cat back. I don't know. I just know I don't want to hurt anybody's feelings so I put up with a lot.
It is what it is.
And it's my life, but it's not. Which means that Jesus knows all about the situation and when it's time, it'll get fixed. Right now it's time to learn to put others ahead of me and the projects to teach that are what they are.
Does the clay have the right to complain to the potter?
The second thing I'm learning in letting go of outcomes is that when my focus is on Jesus, there is joy and peace like I've never known. It's when I look at the circumstances that things get all crazy. So I have had to answer that question:
Is Jesus enough?
Well, the short and long answer is YES!
I understand too, well, all too well, what dying to self and picking up one's cross is all about. There is a door in my life that (and thank God for this!) won't close. But it's not open enough to walk through right now either. I am in her life and she's in mine, but it's not anywhere what I want and just when I think things will change, they don't. But every time I've tried to get off this path and light my own torch, bad things happen. It's kinda how I wound up with the owner of the cat and the cat a couple of years ago. It was what I thought was what God wanted, and it was....to show us why He said NO! in the first place.
My yes turned out to be something I didn't want when I had it and instead of asking God what He wanted, I told Him what I wanted and asked Him to bless it.
Which was dumb.
I lit my own fire.
And He let me. Read Isaiah 51:10 to the end of the chapter. What He said would happen to those that do this happened to me. And when I came around to asking Him what He wanted, well it turned out that it was what I let go of.
Let the games begin. I still believe it's what He wants for me, but He also told me this: He wasn't going to let me escape the consequences of that bad decision this time. It's a lesson He's still driving home.
I shared a post today on Facebook that you should also read. It'll put a lot of this in context. I was hoping for something that didn't transpire. What I got was put in a place where I was more than happy to let go. Not quit. Let go. There's a difference. I may fail. Time after time. Letting go means letting go of the outcome. It doesn't mean to quit trying. And a reminder that the setback was coming so God gave me some devotionals and some Biblical truths to hold onto until He chooses to change the season in my life.
Until then, and even past that....
Jesus is enough!
Having devotions is a good thing. For those that don't know, they're small stories, usually with a practical application of the Scripture they cite. I also like writing them, too. But....
My life sometimes is the devotional.
God always is good to me and sometimes these devotionals really help grow my faith. Sometimes they remind me of what God has done for others which gives me hope that God will also do for me.
Sometimes, they remind me that even when God doesn't, that He is still good (ALL the time) and worthy of praise.
Sometimes God tells me what He is going to do before He does it. He's also good like that. Lately, what He has been telling me is to "Let Go", while reminding me that letting go is not the same thing as giving up. I am trying to make the distinction between the two.
It started a couple of weeks ago while fishing. Let go. It's been a predominate theme through the last few days. And I get it. I'm not good at doing it, but God in His wisdom and our relationship, will make me let go if I can't find a way to do it willingly.
I think we got there, and I want to share with you why.
There are always lessons to be learned and the first one today is that Jesus is enough.
Enough. I have joy and peace in my life when my focus is on Him. When that focus gets diverted, then doubts, anxiety and things start creeping in. So letting go of the things in my life includes letting go of outcomes. I don't know what's going on or where we're going.
He's driving. I have been slowly trying to drive back. He's not letting go of the wheel, so one of us has to and since He is Lord of my life, Creator, God, I'm relatively certain that makes me NOT the primary focus of our relationship. Guess who has to let go.
It's funny because if you read my last post, you'd think I'm trying. But while having to say NO! to a lot lately, I'm still trying to effect an outcome in the thing I believe God has planned for me by trying too hard when the opportunity arises. The door is open because God opened it and keeps it that way. It's not going to be a single solitary thing I do that can effect the outcome God wants, but I think just because He invites me to join HIM in HIS work, that I can change it.
So I say things that maybe I shouldn't.
And then the harsh reality comes when I realize that despite the circumstances, it's not time.
So if I can't let go, God offers me opportunities where it's best for me to decide to let go that may or may not have come if I could have to begin with.
If you have time, before you read any further, read Amos 3:7. If you do, this will make more sense.
I have taken to kind of letting the Holy Spirit direct me to what I should read in the Bible (book wise) and I am in Isaiah right now. Last night, before bed I felt compelled to read...just felt like God had something He wanted me to know.....and when I read Isaiah 50:10-12 , I knew what it was.
Something in my memory was jarred when I read about not lighting our own torch or warming ourselves by a fire of our own making. Those are illustrative ideas: the first is to follow Jesus. The second is to trust Him.
For me, lighting my own fire would have been introducing myself to yo-yo girl, or trying to effect an outcome in a situation involving someone I don't need to speak to this side of glory again and her pussycat which through a series of unfortunate events is being foster cared for by yours truly (want a psycho cat who doesn't like other cats, children, or dogs?) It's trying to go my own way after a setback to something I sincerely believe God wants but keeps me from attaining because it's just not time yet. It's not trusting in what I believe are His promises to me because every time it gets close, nothing changes but me.
But I'm not in charge either. So my faith gets stretched. I learn perseverance. I have to trust in the Lord and lean not to my own understanding because, no matter what I see, I have to believe God instead.
Letting go too means letting go of outcomes. I was told the pussycat's former owner wanted her back and that arrangements were made to make that happen. It didn't happen. It's what I was under the impression that the immigrant came up for on Saturday, not the babysitting jamboree that it turned into. I was called and told the cat was leaving Sunday after 11 p.m. sometime. I still have the cat.
Here's what I mean about affecting outcomes:
Being curious if the owner still wanted it, I snooped her Facebook page and accidentally "liked" something, before quickly un-liking it. Gotta love smart phones, but it's a reminder to me that I don't need to be in that process or looking at her facebook page. I don't care about what she's doing or what's happening in her life. I don't need to talk to her again this side of glory and I don't want to. But if the cat was promised to be returned to her, then the people that made that promise ought to keep it. If not, then I have no problem getting rid of the cat because it's a step in the right direction of what I want to have happen in my life, which is letting go of the past. (part of my past is still my present, so be mindful of that, too, please). Does she want the cat? I have no idea. I got out of there in a hurry. I didn't belong there.
I still have the cat.
And again, Miss June has moved in with Wendi, but her stuff and her pets are still here. I love Miss June and she took very good care of me. I miss that. It sucks being sick and being alone. I hate taking care of her cats as well, but her pets are still here as well as all of her stuff. She has the autumn decorations in her room with her stuff and I won't go through it. I got the hell beat out of me for stealing some change from my mother's purse when I was a kid and it's a lesson I never forgot. That's not MY stuff, even though some of it is. So no decorations, pets that aren't mine, and a roommate that is MIA.
I can't get rid of them because I won't hurt Miss June. I've hurt enough people. It's the same reason I won't just take the cat to the pound. The cat's owner has been hurt enough by yours truly and maybe it's why I want her to have the cat back. I don't know. I just know I don't want to hurt anybody's feelings so I put up with a lot.
It is what it is.
And it's my life, but it's not. Which means that Jesus knows all about the situation and when it's time, it'll get fixed. Right now it's time to learn to put others ahead of me and the projects to teach that are what they are.
Does the clay have the right to complain to the potter?
The second thing I'm learning in letting go of outcomes is that when my focus is on Jesus, there is joy and peace like I've never known. It's when I look at the circumstances that things get all crazy. So I have had to answer that question:
Is Jesus enough?
Well, the short and long answer is YES!
I understand too, well, all too well, what dying to self and picking up one's cross is all about. There is a door in my life that (and thank God for this!) won't close. But it's not open enough to walk through right now either. I am in her life and she's in mine, but it's not anywhere what I want and just when I think things will change, they don't. But every time I've tried to get off this path and light my own torch, bad things happen. It's kinda how I wound up with the owner of the cat and the cat a couple of years ago. It was what I thought was what God wanted, and it was....to show us why He said NO! in the first place.
My yes turned out to be something I didn't want when I had it and instead of asking God what He wanted, I told Him what I wanted and asked Him to bless it.
Which was dumb.
I lit my own fire.
And He let me. Read Isaiah 51:10 to the end of the chapter. What He said would happen to those that do this happened to me. And when I came around to asking Him what He wanted, well it turned out that it was what I let go of.
Let the games begin. I still believe it's what He wants for me, but He also told me this: He wasn't going to let me escape the consequences of that bad decision this time. It's a lesson He's still driving home.
I shared a post today on Facebook that you should also read. It'll put a lot of this in context. I was hoping for something that didn't transpire. What I got was put in a place where I was more than happy to let go. Not quit. Let go. There's a difference. I may fail. Time after time. Letting go means letting go of the outcome. It doesn't mean to quit trying. And a reminder that the setback was coming so God gave me some devotionals and some Biblical truths to hold onto until He chooses to change the season in my life.
Until then, and even past that....
Jesus is enough!
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